Boks won't hold anything back as they aim to make history against All Blacks

All Blacks hooker Codie Taylor spoke of the “dark place” he and his teammates needed to go to when confronting the physicality of the Springboks. 

In a week where personal tragedy has offered a useful perspective amid the typically big build-up to a match between the sport’s greatest rivals, Taylor provided perfect insight about what awaits the 46 players who will be involved at Mount Smart Stadium on Saturday (9.05am South African time). 

“Mentally, you’ve got to get yourself into a pretty dark place to be ready for what’s coming,” said Taylor.

“It’s huge. If you’re talking about the man standing opposite you, there’s a couple of great hookers there. Right across the board they play bloody good footy and they’re big men. There’s no better challenge as an All Black than to go against the South African forward pack.”

Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick said for stand-in skipper Eben Etzebeth there was no better way to honour his father, Harry, who died on Tuesday after a lengthy battle with cancer, than to play against the All Blacks.

“The gentleman made a decision and he wants to play and probably honour his dad with this game,” said Stick.

That added emotion will provide further drive for a Springbok team who know they can lay down a major marker with a win in Auckland.

“Every game is a statement game. This is huge for everyone. Both teams want to make a statement, especially in a World Cup year,” said Bongi Mbonambi.

The starting line-ups are evenly matched, much as the scores between the teams have been in the past five years. In that period, in eight meetings, three matches have been decided by two points, another finished in a draw, with the Boks’ 16-point win in Mbombela last year the largest margin of victory achieved by either side. 

The All Blacks, heavily under fire, turned the result in their favour the next week, winning by 12 points at Ellis Park, an outcome that saved Ian Foster’s job.

The 25,000-capacity Mount Smart Stadium is a more quaint venue than the industrial complex on the east of the Johannesburg CBD, with Stick saying some of the comments from locals about it being a rough setting for a match of such magnitude were unwarranted.

“The way people were speaking, we were surprised when we got there. The pitch is proper. It’s a very nice stadium, it is different from what we are used to,” he said.

Drawing a comparison with small stadiums in Kimberley, Welkom and Brakpan, Stick said the Bok players grew up playing at grounds with less than stellar facilities. “Those are not the friendliest places to visit. So we are used to tough fields and I don’t think it will have a huge impact on the game, given what we saw [at training on Friday].”

History is against the Springboks. The last time South Africa won a Test in the “City of Sails”, was in 1937. Stick admitted he was unaware of that piece of trivia.

“We’ve not talked about that. But we have spoken about playing the All Blacks at home and how special it is to win [here].”

“The majority of us were there in Wellington in 2018, so irrespective of whether it’s Auckland, New Zealand away is very tough. For me, it’s not about winning in Auckland, because playing New Zealand in New Zealand is always a tough task.”

It’s an attitude that signals the importance the Boks have placed on staying in the present. The Rugby World Cup is the dominant competition in the sport this year, but Stick was emphatic that the players couldn’t afford to hold anything back because of that tournament.

“If you want to win against the All Blacks you have to be at your best, irrespective of what you are doing in building towards the World Cup. For us, the main thing is to prep as best as possible. We are not going to hold back on anything.”

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